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The General Assembly has ratified the entry of two new names into its Board of Directors at an Extraordinary General Assembly on October 4.
Roberto Cicutto, veteran Italian producer and President of the Venice Biennale (2020-2024), and Gilles Marchand, Director General of SRG SSR, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, since 2017 and whose mandate ends in October 2024, join Locarno Film Festival President Maja Hoffmann, Vice President Luigi Pedrazzini, and board members Nadia Dresti, Jean-Philippe Rochat, and Nicola Pini, Mayor of the City of Locarno, on the Festival’s supervisory and strategic governing body.
Maja Hoffmann: “Together with Roberto Cicutto and Gilles Marchand, we are enriching our board with invaluable expertise. Building on our successes from 2024, I look forward to delving deeper into the DNA of the Locarno Film Festival and collaborating with our new board and leadership team to shape its future collectively.”
Roberto Cicutto: "In my long career as a producer and distributor I have been a frequent visitor to the Locarno Film Festival, which is renowned for having succeeded in uniting the masters with many new talents in international cinema. I have been and am friends with many of the successive presidents and artistic directors. So, it is with great emotion and gratitude that I accept an assignment that takes me back to the beginnings of my fortunate professional life. I hope to be able to give back as a board member some measure of all that I have learned and received from this important festival.”
Gilles Marchand: “I'm delighted to be able to contribute to the development and influence of the Locarno Film Festival, an essential event on the Swiss and international cultural agenda. Films bear witness to the evolution of society. It's important to be able to welcome them, and to debate them, together”.
A revision of the Festival’s articles of association has led to the introduction of an executive management team, whose members will work together to administer the Festival’s day-to-day operations and develop a long term strategy. With this change, the executive management team has been divided into six departments: three cultural and three management, chaired by a CEO, Raphaël Brunschwig, formerly Managing Director since 2017. The CEO will oversee the new executive management team comprised of six individuals that are responsible for each department, formed by Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director, Markus Duffner, Director of Locarno Pro, Stefano Knuchel, Director of Locarno Factory, as well as Mattia De-Sassi, Chief Operations Officer, Liliana Sampietro, Chief Financial Officer, and Oliver Osborne, Chief Communications Officer.
The introduction of this new structure completes the governance transformation process, initiated last year with the reorganization of the board structure and operation, and represents a move to a more integrated and effective leadership and management structure, responsive to the complex and evolving requirements of one of the world’s most important film festivals
Decision-making authority for the artistic program of the Locarno Film Festival remains with Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director. This new internal organization does not affect his independence, which is firmly anchored in the Festival’s articles of association.
The 78th edition of the Locarno Film Festival will take place from 6-16 August 2025.